Guardians exercise option on Jose Ramirez, per report

The Cleveland Guardians made one of the easiest decisions in MLB history on Friday as they exercised third baseman Jose Ramirez’s $12 million club option for the 2022 season. The move also stipulates that Ramirez will be subject to a $14 million club option next offseason.

This was an absolute no-brainer after Ramirez dominated once again this past season. He finished the year with a .266/.355/.538 slash line, 36 home runs, 103 RBI, 72 walks, 87 strikeouts, and 27 stolen bases. When all was said and done, the three-time All-Star accumulated 6.3 fWAR, which was the third-best mark of his career. He was also very strong defensively, finishing the year in the 94th percentile of Baseball Savant’s Outs Above Average leaderboard.

Heading into his age-29 season, Ramirez has shown no signs of slowing down. He’ll provide Cleveland with a relatively cheap option at the hot corner, allowing them to allocate precious resources elsewhere.

Cleveland finished 80-82 after trading away Franicsco Lindor last offseason and Eddie Rosario and Cesar Hernandez at the deadline.

As of now, the Guardians’ 2022 infield features Ramirez, Amed Rosario, Andres Gimenez, and Bobby Bradley from left to right.

Going forward this offseason, Cleveland’s biggest need comes at the catcher position after Roberto Perez, Wilson Ramos, and Ryan Lavarnway all hit free agency. Austin Hedges is the lone backstop remaining on the Guardians’ roster.